So here's the answer(s) ...

So Where in the World was Dancing Bear?

Since time is so limited and I can't take every class that comes down the pike, I'm trying to be smart about classes/road trips that I take.  During the summer I took a trip to PA for a long-arm class with DeLoa Jones and Jaime Wallen.  Great experience.  And then this past week I took a road trip to Panama City, FL  to take a piecing class with Jacqueline de Jonge.  It was a great experience!  She has so many great tips on how to handle difficult paper-piecing and the curves that are inherent in her beautiful Be Colorful quilts.  The class was sponsored by Quilting by the Bay quilt shop.  This is a shop well-worth the trip.  Evidently Jacqueline was there for over a week teaching different classes.  She’s now in Orlando teaching, and then on to the International Quilt Show in Houston. 

Above is a picture of Jacqueline showing us her beautiful quilts …

 

 

So the sunset and the world’s best mojito were enjoyed there in Panama City at a restaurant recommended by a local.  Great view and ... are you ready?    Oysters on the half-shell at $6.99 a dozen!  I did a happy dance because I pay anywhere from $1.75 to $2.50 PER OYSTER here at home!  Sigh …

 

I left Panama City and traveled north towards I-10.  I’m traveling on a 2-lane highway and off in the distance I see this beautiful white and silver-domed building, and getting closer I realized that this has to be a REAL southern town.  In the south, in the early days, our fore-fathers built their towns ‘on the square’ with some sort of historical monument in the middle; however, this building is on a grand scale and is absolutely gorgeous.  It is the Historical Town of Monticello, Florida.  The ‘old south’ had round-abouts before the Brits!  You travel ‘round about’ the historical monument and then on out of town …

 

 

My next stop was … the Savannah Bee Company in Savannah, GA, where I visited my own busy-little-bee daughter.  She manages the River Street store so naturally I had to go visit and since Dancing Bear LOVES herself some honey … voila!  Dancing Bear sitting by the hive, enjoying a swirl of honey!  

It was a great trip ... I recommend both Jacqueline de Jonge as a teacher ... and I recommend the Quilting by the Bay quilt shop.  HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW BALI POPS?  Saw them Wednesday at QBTB and they are scrumptious!  Love the Cherry, the Plum Pudding, the Lime, and the Watermelon...oh, heck, I love them all! 

Left Savannah at 8:30 p.m. and got home at 12:30 a.m.  Long long trip, but oh-so-worth it!

Now it's on to the business of the day, quilting.  I'll be on the long-arm tonight and all day tomorrow finishing up quilts.  Pictures when I'm done.   And then finishing up the Batik Jacket.  Lots to do!